


To the Groom! To the Bride!

by mddnapstablook



Series: saiouma Modern AU [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: A little bit of Drama, Additional Tags to Be Added, Bachelor Parties, Implied/Referenced Depression, Jealousy, Love Confessions, M/M, Wedding Planning, a ref to past shuichi/korekiyo, a singular reference to miu and kiibo, also kokichi is going thru it he doesnt know how to handle emotions at all, i also completely make up who dice is and what they're like to further the plot, i cant tell if rantaro is in character or not ashfdkajshfkga, it's just a short thing kaito and kaede talk about for like two seconds, kaede has done nothing wrong ever in her life and i love her, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-12 10:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mddnapstablook/pseuds/mddnapstablook
Summary: While Kokichi is struggling with his feelings for Shuichi and their still fragile and new relationship, Kaito proposes to Maki and asks Shuichi to be his best man. With Kaede re-entering the picture to be Maki's maid of honor, Kokichi has to deal with being jealous for the first time ever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> https://ultimateshsllesbian.tumblr.com/image/183241446586
> 
> that's the link to a lil picture i edited so y'all can keep track of who is who in DICE. i hope i didnt accidentely rip off of anyone else's names and interpretations of DICE, i kinda just used whatever names i could think of, so. anyway! this is the last part of this au, so im excited to share it!!

Rantaro is ten minutes late and counting to his meeting with Kokichi, but Kokichi knew better than to think he'd be on time anyway. The ditz would probably forget his own name if people weren't saying it to him all the time.

Kokichi doesn't mind; he sits on the edge of the park fountain, the same one he'd sat on with Shuichi on their first real date. He giggles at the memory of running with Shuichi in the rain as he checks his phone for any messages. 

In his moment of distraction, Rantaro arrives with a sheepish huff and carrying two drinks. He hands one to Kokichi, who is thrilled to take a sip and realize it's hot chocolate, and sips his own as he sits beside him. “How was community service?”

“Long!” Kokichi answers simply because it's a dumb question. “How's your weird store thing?”

Rantaro laughs. “Foreign goods store,” he corrects, taking another sip. “And it's good. A couple of my sisters run the main shop while Korekiyo and I travel, and I update our web pages with new items often enough. It's sustainable.”

“Not like it needs to be!” Kokichi responds, and Rantaro’s eyebrows twitch minutely in irritation.

“Yeah, but I like not relying on my dad's money.”

“Jeez, I was just saying! You don't have to get so bent out of shape about it!” And Kokichi pops the lid off the top of his drink to swipe a finger through the whipped cream. Rantaro smiles and tilts his head.

“Are you still seeing Shuichi?” Rantaro asks, and Kokichi pretends to be horrified.

“What are you talking about?”

“Shuichi? Pretty lashes?” Rantaro pauses as Kokichi hums in consideration before shaking his head. “Korekiyo's ex-boyfriend?” And that earns him a scowl and an actual answer.

“Who said I was 'seeing’ him in the first place?” Kokichi asks.

“You did. Like, when you called me to tell me you'd been arrested by your hot detective boyfriend and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone until you did.” 

Kokichi taps a finger against his chin. “I don't think I recall,” he simpers.

Rantaro doesn't reply, so Kokichi gives up the act. “But, that's a lie. Shuichi is super great, you know? He bought me a jet for my birthday.”

“Your birthday hasn't passed yet.”

“Nishishi!”

Rantaro rolls his eyes fondly and leans back a little so the spray from the fountain lightly mists his skin. “So you two are pretty serious, huh?”

Ew, gross. Feelings talk. “We've only been dating a few months, dummy!” 

“It's not like you've had many past relationships,” and okay, call him out. 

“So what?” Kokichi asks. “You wanna know if we're in looooove?” 

Rantaro snorts. “Sure, are you?”

Kokichi does his best impression of a lovestruck damsel, batting his lashes and clapping his hands together, hot chocolate splooshing out the lip of the cup. “Shuichi sure is the one for me! We're totally gonna have a big fancy wedding and spend way too much money on joint bachelor parties!”

Rantaro chuckles and holds out his hands in defense. “Alright, I'm sorry. I was just asking.”

“Rantaro is so nosy! He should become a detective too since he's such a big old snoop!”

“I just worry, you know? I don't want you to get your heart broken,” Rantaro says, and ew, barf. Gag.

“Nope, no, not happening. The heartbreaking, or this conversation.” Kokichi declares. “I want to _enjoy_ my day off. Talk about something good!”

“Hm, alright then,” Rantaro takes a thoughtful sip of his drink. “Did you hear about the new Danganronpa game?”

And just like that, Kokichi is bouncing in his seat. “No way, really? Oh man, I can't wait to play it!” Then, as an afterthought, “Shuichi likes Danganronpa, too.”

Rantaro quirks a brow, smug grin on his face, “oh, does he?”

Kokichi ignores it, picturing Shuichi's bookshelves. “Nishishi, but he's embarrassed by it. It's dumb and stupid and not cute at all.”

“I'm sure.”

-

It doesn’t take much fake crying to convince Rantaro to drop Kokichi off at the arcade on his way out of town, and Kokichi gives him a super wet kiss on the cheek in thanks. 

When he enters the arcade, he’s unsurprised to see he’s the last one there, and DICE is already fuckin’ it up at skeeball. 

“Boss is here!” Ace shouts when he sees Kokichi enter, and Hacker jumps to her feet beside him, clapping happily. Wander flips his hair out of his eyes pointlessly, the strands falling back into his face. 

“You’re late,” he says softly. 

“Yeah, oops! I know! Rantaro just wouldn’t stop _talking_ , you know? Just talk, talk, talk with that guy,” Kokichi explains, skipping over to where Whisper is sitting, playing on a handheld gaming console. He peeks over her shoulder. “Ooooh,” he encourages, watching her easily complete a level. 

Charmer and Bullseye share a look. “Hey, Boss, you said we’d get to meet Shuichi soon, right?” Bullseye asks, tilting his mask up to sip a soda. 

Kokichi stands straight again and considers the question. “Hm, but haven’t you guys met him already?” 

Charmer crosses her arms. “Yeah, for like two seconds in the hallway. We wanna really meet him, you know?”

“I agree with Charmer,” Whisper says, not looking up from her game. 

“See, even the twerp agrees!” Charmer cheers. 

“Oh, well, if _Whisper_ agrees!” Kokichi says sarcastically, rolling his eyes and taking a skeeball from Ace, lining up his shot and shooting. He misses. He hands it off to Bullseye. 

“Come on, Boss, we’re just curious!” Strike groans, just as Bullseye makes his shot perfectly, the ball rolling up and bouncing right into the 5000 point hole. 

“Ding ding ding!” Silver and Shroud sing, high fiving each other. Bullseye laughs easily. 

“Well, you guys can stay curious, okay? Shuichi is boring anyway, he’s all reserved and stuff. He wouldn’t have fun with us, you know?” Kokichi explains, to everyone’s disappointment. 

“But…” Hacker starts, playing with one of her pigtails. “It’d mean a lot to me if I could meet him, you know? Because…” she trails off, and Ace pats her on the shoulder. 

“Boss, Hacker thinks she’d feel better if she met Shuichi because she still blames herself for you getting arrested.” Ace tells him, and Kokichi feels his chest constrict. 

“That’s not your fault!” Kokichi laughs, but he’s not really happy anymore. He didn’t realize that Hacker still felt guilty about that. “It’s mine! I’m such a ditz, I let us get caught!”

Hacker shakes her head. “No, if I hadn’t cased the restaurant in _uniform_ we never would have been caught,” she argues. “It’s because of me that people know who we are, now.” 

Kokichi tilts his head. “Is notoriety really all that bad?”

Everyone mumbles to themselves, arguing both points. 

Kokichi sits down beside Whisper and leans his head on her shoulder, but it doesn’t disturb her gaming. “I made a mistake and I got arrested, and fined, and had to serve a little bit of community service. But that’s it! We’re totally fine! So there’s no need for any of you to feel, like, guilty or whatever. We’re good!”

“We still want to meet Shuichi,” Whisper says. 

“Agreed,” Wander interjects. There’s a murmur of assent from the others as well. 

Kokichi throws his hands in the air. This is what he gets for being such a benevolent ruler! “Jeez, alright! I’ll… I’ll introduce you guys. But! It probably won’t be anytime soon, okay? Shuichi is super busy with detective stuff, you know!”

Hacker shrieks, clapping her hands together. “Thank you, Boss!”

“Yeah, thanks, Boss!” Charmer says, clapping him on the back a little too roughly. It knocks the air out of him, but he just laughs. 

“Yeah, you all should thank me. I’m super nice! I don’t have to introduce you all to my boy-toy, after all. But I’m doing it out of the goodness of my heart!” 

Kokichi can’t tell through the mask, but he thinks Ace rolled his eyes. 

“Thanks, boss,” Ace says, rolling a skeeball. “Did you have plans for us, today?”

With a flourish, Kokichi pulls his wallet out of his pocket. “We’re going to buy sooooo much bubble solution,” he snickers. 

“This is why we love you, Boss!” Silver shouts. 

“Nishishi!”

-

It’s not often that Kokichi’s day offs are on Fridays since those are usually the busiest days for a party clown, but he’s glad for the occasion. He hadn’t gotten to hang out with Rantaro in a while, maybe since Kiibo’s birthday party? And he was always happy to spend some time with DICE, even if they were almost as nosy and pushy as Rantaro. 

He already promised both Shuichi and DICE that he’d introduce them, but the thought made him feel sick with an anxiety he wasn’t used to dealing with. It wasn’t really that he was worried… well, maybe he kind of was. But only just! It’s not like he really thinks something bad could happen but…

What if DICE doesn’t like Shuichi? What if Shuichi doesn’t like DICE? What if Charmer tries to seduce Shuichi? What if _Strike_ tries to seduce Shuichi? What if Shuichi doesn’t like one of them? Would he make them feel bad? 

Kokichi isn’t the type to worry, it’s just not in his nature. So the fact that his overthinking is brain is now deciding to overthink this future meeting, he’s very uncomfortable and not the least bit happy about it. For the most part, at least, he’s pretty sure it would go alright. But, who knows? Kokichi figures that when he goes over to Shuichi’s later he’ll ask him how he feels about it. 

Shuichi did have work today, though, so Kokichi spares Shuichi’s apartment door a glance as he unlocks his own and heads in. Everything is as he left it, Rantaro’s cardboard cutout is lounging comfortably on his couch, and Kokichi’s shiny new stove is pushed up against the wall between his countertop and fridge. 

Kokichi heads directly to his room to flop on his bed and scroll through his phone. There’s a missed call from Miu, which he ignores, and a text from Kiibo asking him to call Miu back, which is also promptly ignored. Then! His phone buzzes with a new message from Shuichi, who is apparently off work early. ‘ _Do you want to come over?_ ’ he asks, and it’s all Kokichi can do not to bolt for the door immediately. He takes his time rolling off of his bed and heading for Shuichi’s apartment, door left unlocked for him. 

Shuichi looks wrecked when Kokichi sees him, pouring himself a glass of wine. 

“Bad day?” Kokichi asks. Shuichi shrugs, downing his glass of wine in a few gulps and setting the glass down again. 

“Ugh,” he replies intelligently. “Murder case.”

“That sounds fun!” Kokichi replies, popping the cork back into the wine bottle. Shuichi doesn’t argue. “Is it fun?”

“Not really,” Shuichi admits, turning on his stovetop and getting a frying pan out. Kokichi watches him patiently as he sets out to make dinner. “I, ah, my uncle sent me home early, he thinks it was starting to get to me.”

Kokichi shrugs. “He was probably right then! He’s super smart, you know! Oh, maybe he should join DICE. If you won’t, anyway, I’m sure your uncle would!” 

Shuichi looks up from where he’s started melting butter in the pan. “Actually, he might. Please don’t ask him,” Shuichi pleads softly. 

From the counter, Shuichi’s phone buzzes. Kokichi picks it up to read the caller ID, groaning. “It’s stupid goatee guy! Can’t he wait until you see him tomorrow?” 

Shuichi tilts his head, eyebrows quirking as he takes the phone and reads Kaito’s name. “Must be important, I guess,” and he answers it, walking away as he does, for a little fake privacy. “Kaito?”

Kokichi drums his fingers against the counter as he waits for Shuichi to get off the phone, watching the butter melt and swirl in the pan. He wonders briefly what Shuichi was planning on making. Maybe salmon? 

After a few moments, Shuichi exits the bathroom, phone in his pocket and wiping his eyes. “Whoa, are you alright?” Kokichi asks, because oh fuck, he is not ready to be emotionally vulnerable. 

Shuichi smiles and shakes his head. “I’m fine,” he reassures first, and Kokichi releases a soft sigh of relief. “Kaito just called to tell me he proposed to Maki,” he explains, eyes shining with tears again. “He wants me to be his best man.”

Oh. Well, that’s… not what Kokichi was expecting. “Oh, wow!” he exclaims. “I can’t wait to be Maki’s maid of honor!”

Shuichi snorts. “It’s more likely that Maki will have Kaede be her maid of honor.”

 _Oh_ , Kokichi thinks. He was joking, of course, but… Kaede, huh? Interesting. 

“Wah? But, but I would look so good in a dress!” Kokichi cries, chin wrinkling and lip wobbling as tears stream down his face. 

Shuichi laughs, wiping his eyes one last time. “God, I love you,” and Kokichi freezes, heart thumping wildly. Shuichi doesn’t seem to realize what he said at first, and when he does, he freezes as well face flushing. “I- I mean, not, but, I do, I wasn’t lying, but…” he groans, burying his face in his hands. “Just, pretend I didn’t say that. You don’t, ah, you don’t have to say it back.”

Kokichi feels vulnerable, which is the exact opposite of how he would like to feel right now, so he diverts the attention back onto Shuichi. With stars in his eyes, he balls his fists in excitement. “Wow! My beloved Shuichi loves me, huh? I don’t dislike that! It works really well for me, actually! You’re so much easier to manipulate when your feelings are involved!”

Kokichi watches Shuichi lift his face from his hands, cheeks still dusted pink. “Really?”

“Yeah, totes!”

Shuichi straightens his back, clearing his throat. His face is still a little red, but he seems way more relaxed about his slip-up. “Okay,” he agrees. “Alright. Do, um, do you want to help me cook?” Kokichi nods.

“Yep! What are we making?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaede has arrived from America, and Kaito still hasn't figured out who his second groomsman is! Meanwhile, what's this weird feeling Kokichi keeps getting when Shuichi is nice to Kaede?

“The soonest Kaede can get here is in two weeks,” Shuichi says as he locks his phone. 

“She’s super busy, huh?” Kokichi kind of asks as his head hangs over the foot of Shuichi’s bed, the blood rushing up and making him dizzy. He sits up quickly and nearly falls back over. 

“What are you doing?” Shuichi asks, eyebrows stitched in concern. 

“It’s an old Pagan ritual,” Kokichi explains solemnly. “It’s not weird.” 

Shuichi nods once. “Anyway, Kaede has a few more shows I suppose, so she’s unable to take time off until then. But then she’ll be staying here,” Shuichi says, and that gets Kokichi’s attention. 

“Here? Like, here-here?”

“Yeah, it makes more sense for her to stay with one of us rather than in a hotel, and I think it makes more sense for her to stay with me since Kaito and Maki are… well, they’re together, you know? And I live alone, so.”

Kokichi hums. “Not a whole lot of space in here, though.”

“You’re right, but I’m sure it’ll be alright. She can sleep in my bed, and I’ll take the couch.” Then, Shuichi smiles sweetly and averts his eyes. “Or, I could stay over at yours. I-it could work, either way…” 

Well _that_ doesn’t sound so bad. Kokichi likes when Shuichi stays over at his apartment instead. Shuichi is hilariously bad at the Danganronpa games, (which irks him to no end. He knows the answers, but he just freakin’ sucks at the timing and shooting and everything. He gets so mad!) and pretty much any other game Kokichi puts him through. Except for chess, he guesses, but Shuichi has his own chessboard, so he was already good at that. Oh! And Yu-Gi-Oh! Kokichi has been teaching Shuichi how to duel, and so far, he isn’t that bad at it!

And, there’s something very appealing about waking up in Shuichi’s arms. Or across from him, watching him blink awake and flush when he realizes that Kokichi is watching him. 

It’s enough for him to ignore the weird pang in his chest when he thinks about Ex #1 sleeping in Shuichi’s bed, at any rate, so he grins. “That works! Wow, I can't wait to meet her! I bet she has all kinds of embarrassing stories to share about my beloved shumai!”

“Shumai?” Shuichi asks with an adorable tilt of his head.

Kokichi nods. “I'm trying out food nicknames. Shumai fits, don't you think?”

Shuichi shrugs. “So you're really okay with Kaede coming to stay?”

“Sure, why wouldn't I be?”

Shuichi hesitates momentarily before he goes on. “Well, it's just that Kaede and I were… romantically involved. For a few years.”

Kokichi is only too aware of that, but he rolls his eyes. “So? Are you planning on dumping me for her or something?”

“N-no! Of course not!” Shuichi defends, and it nearly makes Kokichi laugh with the sudden fierceness of it. “I wouldn't, I just… it doesn't make you uncomfortable? B-because she and I-”

“Shuichi is asking me if I'm jealous, huh? Well, it's 100% true! I am jealous! I'm really boiling with rage right now, let me tell you!” Kokichi screws his face into a grimace, and Shuichi just watches Kokichi fume for a moment.

“So you don't care?”

Kokichi shrugs, act abandoned. “Should I? Shumai _loves_ me right?”

Shuichi blushes, nice and pink, and averts his eyes, as he often does. 

“So I met a confirmed assassin-”

“Literature teacher,” Shuichi softly interjects. 

“-and Stupid goatee guy-”

“You should really stop calling him that,” Shuichi says, but Kokichi takes it as more of a suggestion. 

“-so it's about time that I meet ex-number one!”

Shuichi bites his lip. “Please don’t call her that when you meet her,” he pleads softly.

Kokichi shrugs.

-

Two weeks isn't actually that far away, as it turns out, and Kokichi finds himself riding in Shuichi's car with him and Maki on the way to the airport to pick up Kaede. Kokichi still doesn’t really know anything about Kaede, actually. She plays piano and is one of the zillions of people taller than him, but beyond that everyone has been pretty quiet about her personality and stuff. Kokichi would ask someone about it if he could because he likes being prepared for things, but he doesn't really have anyone to ask. Maki would obviously never tell him, Kaito was an idiot and he couldn't ask Shuichi because then Shuichi would know he was gathering intel, and he might think Kokichi was jealous or something. Which he isn’t! He’s just a reasonable adult who can’t stand not knowing things. 

Especially when said thing is going to be sleeping in Shuichi’s bed for the foreseeable future. At least Kaito and Maki are getting married as soon as possible, and not dragging out the planning for a year or longer like normal people. 

Maki’s been silent as ever on the way to the airport, and Kokichi squirms in the backseat as he sees it coming into view. “Finally!” He exclaims, and Maki barely spares him a glare in the rearview mirror as Shuichi pulls into the lot. 

“Do you think her plane is here, yet?” Shuichi asks, and Kokichi shrugs as he gets out of the car. 

“Probably. We’re running a little late after all,” Maki replies as they all head inside to wait for her. Some people are coming through the gate, but none of them happen to spot Kaede in the crowd, until Kokichi glances over and sees a tall blonde girl sneaking up behind Shuichi and tapping him on the shoulder. When he spins around, he smiles as he makes eye contact with her. 

“Kaede!” and immediately, she’s pulling him into a tight hug, even lifting Shuichi off the ground and spinning him around. 

“Shuichi! Oh my gosh, I missed you guys so much!” Kaede shrieks, setting Shuichi back down. He wobbles momentarily before she reaches out and puts her hands on his shoulders to steady him. “You dyed your hair to its natural color again!”

Shuichi cards a hand through his black hair, and oh yeah, Kokichi remembers that the picture on Shuichi’s fridge from when he was a teen showed him with blue hair. Kokichi never really thought about it that much. “Ah, yeah. Bleaching it and dyeing it is a lot of work,” Shuichi replies. 

Then, Maki steps closer to them, and Kaede’s eyes shift over to her. “Maki! You look so _nice_!” Kaede says as she pulls Maki into a much less intense hug that has Maki clenching her fists at her side. 

“I’m glad you could come. Kaito is going to be thrilled to see you. As am I,” Maki responds. “Shuichi can get your bags for you,” she finishes, and Shuichi crosses his arms in mild defiance as Kaede pulls away, and Maki instantly starts playing with her hair, probably to try to recover from acting like a real person with feelings. 

“Oh, no, that’s fine! I can get them myself!” she says, waving off the offer. “Although, from what I felt, you could definitely do it, huh Shuichi? You’ve been keeping up with training with Maki and Kaito?” she asks. 

“Yeah, he sure has! He’s crazy jacked, you know? He could probably suplex all three of us at once!” Kokichi interjects, because okay, he’s done being relegated to the sidelines, now. 

Shuichi huffs out a laugh, smiling at him as he takes Kokichi’s hand. “I doubt that.”

Kaede’s eyes flick between everyone before bouncing down to Kokichi and Shuichi’s intertwined hands, and Kokichi can literally see Kaede connecting the dots in her head before she smiles and speaks. “Oh! You’re Kokichi, right?”

Kokichi grins. “The one and only!” He’d throw his hands out dramatically if he could, honestly, but it’s a little difficult to be flamboyant when your boyfriend has somewhat of a death grip on your hand. Hm. 

One step forward and Kaede is giving Kokichi the same hug treatment she’d given Shuichi, picking him up and twirling him while holding him tight. Kokichi… kind of doesn’t know how to react. When he stumbles out of Kaede’s grip, he feels off-kilter, and he wonders if that’s why Shuichi had liked her so much. It just makes Kokichi feel unsteady and a little wrong. He spares a look at Shuichi and Maki. Shuichi seems delighted, but Maki is watching the three of them carefully as if she’ll need to step in momentarily to break up a fight. 

“Right,” Maki says, turning around quickly, her single braid flipping behind her. “Well, let’s go. Kaito is going to meet us at the restaurant.”

Kaede claps her hands together happily. “Ahh! I’m so excited to see him! And I’m so happy to be here, and that I get to be your maid of honor, ugh! This is so great!” she cheers, grabbing one of Maki’s and Shuichi’s hands, pulling them towards the baggage claim. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“A-ah, okay,” Shuichi says, letting himself be tugged along easily, giving Kokichi a small smile that says, ‘what can you do?’ as he’s tugged along, Kokichi having been released from the death grip. 

“Alright then,” Kokichi says to himself as the other three practically skip over to get Kaede’s bags, white and pink suitcases with little musical notes all over them. He follows behind, mood sour for reasons he can’t quite place. 

-

At the restaurant, Kaito reverses the roles to be the one who picks Kaede up and spins her around, setting her down as she giggles and retaking his seat, Maki slipping into the seat next to him. Kaede sits in between Kaito and Shuichi, which leaves the seat in between Maki and Shuichi for Kokichi to claim. He grins at Maki, who of course only rolls her eyes, as he sits down between them. 

“How was America?” Kaito asks, and Kaede hums easily as she considers it. 

“It was cool! I got to meet a lot of really nice people! A lot nicer than I was led to believe, honestly,” she laughs. “How have you guys been? Kaito, are you and Maki still teaching?”

Maki nods as Kaito answers. “Yeah, definitely! I love teaching astronomy and physics. And Maki here is still pretty dedicated to the whole literature thing!”

“Ah, I’m so bad at all that stuff!” Kaede says. “You guys are all so much smarter than me, all I can do is play the piano!” 

“That’s so not true!” Kaito objects just as Shuichi is also saying, “No, that’s wrong!”

“Kaede, you’re brilliant. Just because you’re better at the piano than other subjects doesn’t mean that you aren’t as smart,” Shuichi says, and Kaito nods fiercely. 

“Shuichi is right! You’re just as smart as the rest of us!” and that, Kokichi can’t just _not_ say anything.

“Nishi, speak for yourself!” he laughs, and then all eyes are on him. Not that he minds!

Shuichi doesn’t look especially pleased though. 

“Hey! Are you trying to call me an idiot or somethin’?” Kaito gripes. Maki pats his arm once, glare leveled at Kokichi. 

“Ah, jeez! I’ve been so rude, just talking about myself!” Kaede shakes her head. “I’m so sorry! Kokichi, I’d love to hear more about you! How did you and Shuichi meet?” 

Kaito snickers at that, and when Kaede quirks a brow at him, he just rubs the back of his head until she turns her attention back to Kokichi and Shuichi. 

“Well,” Shuichi starts, but Kokichi cuts him off. 

“I’m a prostitute and Shuichi is one of my regulars, actually! He fell in love with me after I rocked his world!” Kokichi answers, lying smoothly. 

“Uh, o-oh?” Kaede glances between Kokichi and Shuichi uncertainly. Kaito stifles a laugh across the table. 

“That’s! That isn’t true!” Shuichi protests, shaking his head. “We’re neighbors. I offered him cooking lessons so he wouldn’t get kicked out after he accidentally started a small fire in his kitchen, and that’s pretty much it.” Wow. Shuichi has gotten super good at condensing that story into one sentence!

Kaede smiles, much more genuinely now. “Oh, okay! That, uh, actually makes a lot more sense.” 

Kokichi shrugs. “I thought my story was pretty believable, too.”

-

And so the lunch goes, Shuichi and Kaito doing their best to reel Kokichi in when he would lie and make Kaede borderline uncomfortable, and one time Maki kicks at him under the table, but overall, a successful lunch where no important wedding plans were decided at all. 

As they’re all finally filing out of the restaurant, Kaede dully slaps the palm of her hand against her forehead. “Duh! I’m sorry, I totally derailed everything! We didn’t even talk about the wedding! My fault, guys!”

“It’s fine,” Maki says, the tiniest of tiny smiles on her face. “We have most of the little stuff worked out already.”

“But I don’t even know your other bridesmaids yet! And, Kaito! Have you picked your groomsmen, yet?”

Kaito scratches at his dumb, ugly goatee. “Yeah, I picked one already. I don’t know who to pick for the second one, though…” he trails off, eyes flitting around until they fall on Kokichi. “Hey-”

“No,” Maki says, tone even, but firm. 

“Ugh, this is so hard! Who woulda thought planning a wedding would be so damn complicated!” Kaito complains. 

“Everyone, genius,” Kokichi snarks, watching Kaito’s expression of despair quickly switch over to one of irritation. 

“Don’t worry!” Kaede says, a smile on her face. “That’s what me and Shuichi are for! To help with the complicated stuff!” And she tugs Shuichi against her side, into a half-hug. “With the four of us planning it, you guys are going to have the best wedding ever, I promise!”

Maki twirls a strand of her bangs. “Oh, is that one of your big promises?”

“Yeah, of course! We won’t let you down!” Kaede insists. Shuichi nods beside her. Kokichi only barely resists the urge to roll his eyes at the sweetness of it all. 

“Great! I knew I could count on you guys!” Kaito says, throwing up a thumbs up. “Well, I gotta get back to work, but- Maki Roll? You riding home with them?”

Maki shakes her head, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “No, I’m going to walk,” she replies. 

“Are you sure? I could drop you off-” Shuichi starts, but Maki raises a hand, silencing him. Powerful! Kokichi is almost jealous of the effect. 

“It’s fine. I’ll talk to you guys soon,” she says to Kaede and Shuichi, and then she turns to Kaito. “I’ll see you when you get home.”

Kaito leans down to press a loud kiss to Maki’s forehead that she obviously cringes at while his eyes are closed. “See you later, babe!”

That earns an eye roll, from more than just Maki, in fact, as she starts in the direction of her home. Kaito shuffles his feet for a second, seemingly unsure without the support of Shuichi or his girlfriend. Fiance. Whatever. “I guess I’m gonna get going then! See you guys later!”

“Bye, Kaito!” Kaede and Shuichi say in unison, one clearly more excited than the other. They both turn back to each other with identical soft smiles though, and Kokichi could honestly gag. 

“So!” He claps his hands together, getting their attention. “Ready to go home?”

“Ah! Yeah! I’m super excited to see what your apartment looks like, Shuichi!” Kaede says, and Shuichi chuckles. 

“It’s not really that impressive,” he says, and Kokichi nods. 

“Yeah, he even still has an oven! How boring,”

Kaede giggles, covering her mouth to try to stop the outpouring of laughter. “You’re so funny, Kokichi!”

Kokichi grins back at her and throws his hands behind his head, glad to be making a good impression despite the weird swirling feeling in his stomach every time Shuichi smiles at her. 

-

“Oh, wow, it’s somehow exactly like and nothing at all like what I would picture your apartment to look like!” Kaede says as she steps through the threshold and begins looking around, eyeing all of Shuichi’s stuff. Her eyes follow the walls, taking in Shuichi’s bookshelves and his giant tv followed up by the pretty glass coffee table, Shuichi’s aunt’s cookbook resting on top of it. Kaede walks over to the couch and plops down, grabbing the book and flipping through it. “Oh, the pancakes your aunt used to make every morning!” she enthuses, jabbing a finger down at the recipe. “Kaito and I ate so many, no wonder I was so huge in high school!” she comments, flipping a few more pages. 

“Ah, you weren’t _huge_ ,” Shuichi says as he sets down her suitcases and closes the door behind himself. And Shuichi is probably right, Kokichi thinks, based on the picture on his fridge. Kaede was definitely thick, but it wasn’t like she was 600 pounds or something. 

Despite saying she’d bring them in herself, Kokichi and Shuichi huff from carrying the suitcases up all those stairs. Of course, the _one_ day that the elevator is out…

Kaede closes the book with a _thump!_ and she turns to face them as they straighten up, as if they weren’t just dying from carrying all her luggage. 

“Shuichi, thank you so much for letting me stay with you! I would have felt so weird staying with Maki and Kaito… and I could have stayed in a hotel or something, I guess, but I’m really glad you’re letting me stay with you instead.”

“Of course, Kaede. You’re more than welcome here.”

Kaede smiles, and stands up, looking around. “So, where am I sleeping? This couch is pretty comfy…” she says, glancing down at it. 

“Um, actually, I was thinking you could sleep in my room? I wouldn’t want you to stay on the couch for however long you’ll be here, you know? S-so, you can sleep in my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch, or over at Kokichi’s,” Shuichi explains, nodding at Kokichi, who takes it as his cue to smile reassuringly. 

Kaede shakes her head. “Oh, that’s alright! You can just share the bed with me! It’s big enough, right? And it’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before!”

For a moment, the room is dead quiet as everyone takes in what Kaede has just said, and, presumably, Shuichi tries to decide how to politely decline. Then, it clicks in Kaede’s mind and she shakes her head again, laughing. 

“Oh, oh no! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I wasn’t even thinking!” Kaede closes her eyes for a second and sighs before opening them again and directing her next words at Kokichi. “You must think I’m some pretty little homewrecker or something, huh?” she asks, expression downcast. 

Shuichi starts to argue, and as he does, Kokichi answers. Only, he doesn’t really think through what he’s going to say, which is super rare, actually! The words just come out, as if he’s talking to Miu or someone else he isn’t worried about offending. 

“Yeah, well, you’d have to be pretty for that to be true!” he laughs, and oh, fuck, that was… not the right thing to say. 

Kaede’s mouth is agape in abject shock, and when Kokichi looks up at Shuichi, his expression mirrors her’s pretty well. 

“Kokichi!” he admonishes. 

“It was a joke!” Kokichi defends, throwing his arms out. “I didn’t mean it!”

When he looks back at Kaede, she’s smiling kind of sadly, and god damn it, Kokichi really fucked up here, huh? He tries to think of a way to save the rapidly deteriorating situation, but his mind is going blank, so unfamiliar with this situation. Come on, brain, what are you even for?!

Finally, Kaede laughs weakly. “Ah, it was just a joke, right? It’s alright. Um, Shuichi? Is it alright if I take a nap? I’m a little tired from the plane.” 

“A-ah, of course, Kaede. My room is past the kitchen,” he explains, pointing down the hall. 

She nods, spares them both one last forced smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, and head for Shuichi’s room, closing the door behind herself. Then, it’s just Shuichi and Kokichi standing in his living room in silence. 

“I said I was sorry!” Kokichi says when Shuichi continues to stand and not say anything, eyes focusing pretty hard on his closed bedroom door. 

“No, you didn’t,” Shuichi responds, intense eyes flicking over to Kokichi. “Why did you say that?”

“It was a joke! I didn’t even think about it! She just reminds me of Miu, you know? Tall and blonde, and Miu likes jokes like those!” It’s a weak defense, and Shuichi cuts through it in seconds. 

“They look nothing alike!” Shuichi snaps, and then he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. Kokichi isn’t really sure what to do right now. He kind of just wants to bail. 

“I’ll see you later, okay? I need to… to clean. And figure out what I’m making for dinner tonight. Are you staying?” 

Kokichi shakes his head. “I have a meeting with DICE, so I gotta scram.”

“Fine,” Shuichi says flatly, and ouch, okay, Kokichi doesn’t think Shuichi has ever used the tone with him before. Whatever! It was an accident, Shuichi would get over it. 

“Well, alright then! Guess I’m off! See you later, my beloved!” Kokichi trills, but Shuichi doesn’t respond as he takes a seat on his couch. 

Well, okay. Kokichi lets himself out, closing the door softly on his way.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito picks his second groomsman! And Rantaro gets someone's number.

Shuichi doesn't end up coming over that night, so Kokichi sleeps alone for the first time in a while. It's not quite an unfamiliar experience to be waking up in his own bed, with no one to cuddle with, but it's irregular enough of an occurrence at this point that Kokichi blinks at the empty space in his bed with a weird mix of emotions in his gut. Gross. 

Anyway, Kokichi isn't going to get all misty-eyed over something dumb like, 'missing Shuichi’ or whatever. He's right across the hall. And, when Kokichi checks his phone, Shuichi has sent him a good morning text, so he's probably over the whole joke thing. Kokichi's actually pretty grateful that's not a problem anymore because he isn't really sure how you’re supposed to handle something like that in a relationship. Relationships are weird. 

Regardless, Kokichi needs to get out of bed so he can get to work. He can’t remember ever dreading work as much as he does at this very moment though. All he wants is to go back to sleep. He isn’t sure why he feels so tired despite all the sleep he got. Especially since he’s not one to want to just laze around, Kokichi is always up and moving around, it’s like he can’t stay still. To feel so lethargic like this is nearly unsettling. 

When he manages to get up and get ready, finally, and move Rantaro’s cardboard cutout into his hall closet (entirely for the setup to a joke later), Kokichi steps out into the hall right as Kaede is locking Shuichi’s apartment door behind herself. 

When she turns around, she gasps and throws a hand over her mouth, then laughs. 

“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t expect to bump into you this morning! Good morning, Kokichi! Did you sleep well?” she asks, smiling down at him. Kokichi keeps his face neutral, but he does feel the corners of his lips twitch. Why is Kaede talking so nicely to him? 

“I slept like the dead! And now I’m off to steal from homeless people. Gotta go!” and he whips around as quickly as possible to get away from that fuckin’ ball of sunshine hidden in the body of a pretty piano player. Unfortunately, he isn’t expecting Kaede to grab his shoulder and spin him back around to look up into her bright purple eyes. 

“Hey, can I say something?” and then she doesn’t wait for him to answer before she goes on. “I just wanted to tell you that I know you didn’t mean what you said yesterday. I understand how this is a little weird for you, because it’s weird for me, too. The last time I saw Shuichi, he could barely lift himself up, and now he’s like, really strong? And he doesn’t have blue hair anymore, and he’s talking way more and he seems… happy.” she smiles as she says the last part, eyes glazing over like she’s not really looking at Kokichi anymore, and it makes him feel uncomfortable. 

“He told me he loves you, you know? When we, you know, when we were together, he never told me that. I said it all the time, but, he was always embarrassed by pet names and PDA and stuff. I guess you could chalk it up to growing up, or whatever, but…” Kaede trails off. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Kokichi asks. Kaede just smiles at him again, and then she adjusts the purse on her shoulder and walks away, down the hall, to the now miraculously working elevator. Kokichi stands there for a second, watching her wait for the elevator to make it all the way up to their floor, and his mind is swimming. 

For the first time ever, Kokichi calls in sick to work. 

-

After going back to bed, Kokichi is woken up to his phone ringing on his bedside table, the buzz making it move closer and closer to the edge. He rubs his bleary eyes and checks the contact, mildly surprised and irritated when it’s Rantaro calling. He answers the phone with a very friendly, “What?” that’s thick with sleep. 

“Did you just get up or something? It’s like, eleven.” 

Kokichi clears his throat. “No way! I’ve been up since the crack of dawn. Running a super-elite and highly trained _and_ dangerous group of phantom thieves isn’t the kind of thing you can do by waking up in the middle of the day, dummy.”

“Right, my mistake,” Rantaro begins. “Miu says you aren’t returning her calls.”

“Is that why you’re calling? Jeez, how boring. If that’s all, I’m hanging up-”

“No, that’s not all. I’m leaving tomorrow with Korekiyo to Cambodia. I wanted to know if you were interested in doing something today before I go. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone this time,” Rantaro explains. 

Kokichi starts weighing the pros and cons in his mind as he replies. “Don’t you have, like, a store to be running?”

“Kiyo likes running it well enough on his own, or with my sisters. He can handle it until we leave tomorrow. So? I’ll get you ice cream if you want.”

Oh, well that’s hardly even a question, is it?

-

It’s a ruse, of course, because Rantaro is a sneaky asshole. There is ice cream, yes, but there’s also the face of a man who thinks he’s got Kokichi all figured out, and Kokichi bites into his top scoop of ice cream with a glare leveled at Rantaro sitting across from him. Rantaro is gently bopping his head to the beat of the dumb ice cream parlors’ radio. 

“My beloved Rantaro should wipe that dumb smirk off his face before I’m forced to send him off to mine Manganese ore in Ukraine,” Kokichi says, one finger raised to his lips. 

“Was I smirking?” Rantaro asks, still smiling smugly. “I was just thinking.”

“Oh, about what?” Kokichi asks, taking another bite of ice cream and looking down at his nails. “It better be interesting, though.”

Rantaro shrugs. “You seem like something is bothering you.”

“And so you’re smiling? Wow, I didn’t realize Rantaro hated me that much. You’re so mean! I thought you l-l-loved me!” Kokichi cries, and in his peripheral, he can see a few people turning to stare at the two of them, some looking a touch concerned at the way that he’s bawling his eyes out in the middle of the shop, while Rantaro continues to smile at him, unaffected. He gives up the act, wiping the tears away. “I guess love is meaningless after all.”

“Is it?” Rantaro asks, pierced brow raising. Now Kokichi sees his game. Rantaro thinks Kokichi is upset about Shuichi, huh? 

“Yep! That’s why I dumped Shuichi!”

At that, the smile on Rantaro’s face is gone, and he sits up. “You’re lying.”

“Nishishi, you’d think so, right? But Shuichi doesn’t mean anything to me. So I broke up with him. Easy as that!” Kokichi lies, watching Rantaro scan his face skeptically. For a few moments, it’s silent between them as they stare each other down, Rantaro trying to figure out if Kokichi is lying or not. Then, his eyes flick to the window they’re seated by, and he smiles again. 

“Well, I guess we’ll know if that’s true or not in a minute, won’t we?” 

“Wh-” but when Kokichi turns to look, they’ve already entered the shop. 

“See, this is the place I was telling you about!” Kaito announced loudly as he holds the door open for Kaede and Maki to enter. Shuichi brings up the rear, looking around at the shop’s decor curiously. 

“Do you think they do catering? Wouldn’t ice cream at your wedding be so nice?” Kaede asks before her eyes settle on Kokichi. “Oh, hey, look who’s here!” She says, pointing him out, and then all their eyes are on him. Kokichi feels his chest tighten when Shuichi’s eyes snap over to him, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. 

Kokichi can’t hear her say it, voice being too soft, but he can read lips, and even if he couldn’t, Maki’s glare is enough to get the picture across. “What is _he_ doing here?”

“It’s a public place, Maki Roll!” Kokichi shouts across the shop, and she glares harder at him, and then the four of them are coming over and sitting down, and this is the worst thing Kokichi thinks has ever happened to him. Well, probably anyway. 

“Hey, man, Shuichi said you had work today, that’s why you couldn’t come with us to-” Kaito starts, but Rantaro interrupts him.

“Hey, I’m Rantaro Amami, nice to meet you guys. Shuichi, it’s good to see you again.” Rantaro says, smiling at them all in that disarming way he has. Ugh.

“Ah, h-hi, Rantaro,” Shuichi says, eyes flicking over from Kokichi. He looks like he didn’t expect Rantaro to remember him, or something dumb like that. 

Kaito grins widely and introduces himself and Maki, and Maki actually blushes a little when Kaito refers to her as his fiance. Awe! Maybe she really is human!

“Hi! I’m Kaede Akamatsu! It’s really nice to meet you! Are you a friend of Kokichi’s?” Kaede asks. Rantaro nods. 

“Yeah, we go way back. He actually pulled a prank on one of my sisters, and I guess we hit it off when I went to confront him,” Rantaro laughs almost sheepishly at the memory, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Kokichi doesn’t voice the thought that his sister definitely had that pie to the face coming. Rantaro could be scary when it came to his sisters. 

“Jeez, don’t talk about me like I’m not here!” Kokichi says, and Shuichi narrows his eyes at him. 

“Well, why are you here?” he asks, and oh, maybe he isn’t over the joke thing. That’s… something. Kokichi grins back at him, throwing his hands behind his head. 

“I snuck in last night and laced all the ice cream with laxatives! I’m waiting for it to take effect on these poor souls,” Kokichi answers, and Shuichi sits back in his seat with a small huff. Beside him, Kaede glances unsurely between them before she smiles and speaks up. 

“Kaito suggested we get ice cream here because they have this new galaxy ice cream he wanted us all to try! We just got done confirming color choices for the wedding,” she explains. 

“Wedding?” Rantaro asks. 

Kaede nods. “Mhm! Kaito and Maki are getting married soon. I get to be the maid of honor!” she squeals, clapping her hands together. 

Rantaro smiles at her. “Are you from here?”

She blinks twice before answering with a giggle. “Uh, yeah, originally! I moved to America for a while to study, and then I ended up staying over there because it’s really cool! I’m back for the wedding, though!”

Rantaro and Kaede go back and forth asking each other questions, and Maki and Kaito excuse themselves from the table to get ice cream for the four of them, leaving Kokichi and Shuichi to sit quietly listening to them talk. Kokichi’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and when he checks it, it’s a text from Shuichi.

He glances up at him, and Shuichi’s eyes just flick from his own phone held just under the table, and up to Kokichi’s own phone. Finally, Kokichi takes the hint and reads the message. 

_’Why are you here?’_

Good question, Kokichi thinks. 

_’Rantaro wanted ice cream!’_

_’He’s not eating anything.’_ Ugh, shut up. 

“Here we go!” Kaito shouts, earning a few glares from other ice cream shop patrons. He sets ice cream down for himself and the other three as he and Maki retake their seats, and Kaede flushes and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear as Rantaro gives her one last smile. 

“Well, I need to get going,” Rantaro announces, suddenly standing up. Kokichi rises to his feet as well, because whether he was done with his ice cream or not, Rantaro is his ride home and he’s not about to stay and hitch a ride with the rest of them. Even if doing so would piss Maki off spectacularly. 

“Awe, so soon?” Kaede asks, and Kaito nods. 

“Yeah, come on, we just met! Stay a while!” he agrees, nudging Maki to agree with him. Maki doesn’t say anything. 

“Ah, well, just a little longer,” he replies, sitting back down, and reluctantly, Kokichi sits down again, too. His phone goes off again, and Shuichi looks at him meaningfully, but Kokichi ignores him. 

“You’re being awfully quiet,” Maki says slowly, directed at Kokichi. 

“Nishi, it’s because I’m planning how to rob this place. You don’t talk about your plans out loud, you know?” he retorts, grinning at her. 

“If you get arrested, I’m not bailing you out,” Rantaro says, and Kaede giggles. 

“Oh, like that’ll happen again,” Kokichi waves it off, but he delights in the way Kaede’s face warps into bewilderment for a split second. 

“Hey, this is kind of a weird question, but are you like, busy?” Kaito asks Rantaro, and that’s, well, weird. Maki stiffens beside him though, and it takes all of two seconds for Kokichi to connect the dots. 

“He is,” Kokichi answers, just as Rantaro chuckles out an, “I guess that depends.”

Kaito rubs the back of his neck. “It’s just that I need a second groomsman, but I don’t really know anyone else that I like enough to have in my wedding, you know? And Maki already said ‘no’ to Kokichi,” Kaito explains. 

“What, so you’re asking me to be in your wedding? We’ve just met,” Rantaro breathes out, and everyone’s eyes flick between the two like a shitty game of pong. 

“Yeah, I know, but you seem alright! And Shuichi knows you so he can vouch for you, right?” and Shuichi blinks into the conversation, and Kokichi realizes that Shuichi’s just been staring at him for a while now. 

“O-oh, yes. Rantaro is…” Shuichi trails off, but Kaito doesn’t really ask for any more information, he just nods and grins at Rantaro. 

“So?”

Kokichi looks at Rantaro, and he would never beg or plead because he’s Kokichi Ouma, and Kokichi Ouma doesn’t beg, but silently, he pleads with his eyes for Rantaro to say no. 

“Yeah, I guess I can,” Rantaro answers. 

“No, you can’t,” Kokichi laughs easily, smile strained. “You’re leaving for Cambodia tomorrow, remember?” 

“Cambodia?” Kaede asks, eyes twinkling. Rantaro smiles at her _again_.

“I run and own my own foreign imports store, so I travel a lot. My next trip is supposed to be for Cambodia tomorrow but…” he shrugs, eyes flicking over to Kokichi as he says, mischievous grin on his face, (and Kokichi is violently thrown into a flashback of Rantaro clicking his jaw in irritation while sitting on a park fountain.) “it’s not like I can’t afford to reschedule. I’ve been meaning to spend more time at home anyway; I miss my family.”

Kaito laughs happily. “So you’ll do it? And Maki Roll, you’re okay with it?” he asks, turning to face his fiance. 

Maki’s face is carefully blank as she sizes Rantaro up and her eyes slowly move over Kokichi and Rantaro and Shuichi, and then Kaede, and finally over to Kaito.

“It’s fine.”

Fuck. 

“Alright, then I guess it’s settled,” Rantaro chuckles. “I’ll be in your wedding.”

“Yes! I knew I’d find another groomsman! I told you, guys. I know what I’m doing! Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars won’t let anything get in the way of having the best wedding imaginable!”

“I’m sure,” Shuichi says under his breath, and Kaede frowns minutely at him. 

“Shuichi, are you alright?”

Shuichi blinks and looks up from his lap, flushing under the sudden attention. “Ah? I’m alright. But um, I need to get back to the- back to work.” he says, eyes down again as he stands, pocketing his phone. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“You didn’t even try the ice cream!” Kaito pouts. Shuichi frowns before leaning down and taking the tiniest of bites, grimacing as he swallows. 

“Okay. I’m going now. I’ll see you at home, Kaede.” she nods, and he looks at Kokichi for a second before shaking his head and leaving. Kokichi feels his heart hammering in his chest as he leaves. 

“Huh,” Kaito scratches at his goatee. “That was kind of weird, right? You think he’s okay? You don’t think-”

“Don’t even say that!” Kaede exclaims. “He’s fine! He’s probably just tired. You know how he gets.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, hope he’s okay.” and beside him, Maki’s eyes flick from the shop’s entrance to Kokichi. She doesn’t say anything, but Kokichi doesn’t wait for her to, either. 

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to take my leave! I still have, like, sooo much to do today, you know? People to frame, people to rob, you know. The usual.” he stands up, rolling his neck. “Come on, Rantaro. Take me home.”

Rantaro snorts. “Yeah, okay.”

“Oh, well it was really nice getting to meet you!” Kaede says, standing up to give Rantaro a hug. “I guess I’ll see you at the rehearsal?”

Rantaro smiles and nods. “Yeah, definitely. Shuichi can get you guys my number,” he says, directing the second comment to Kaito and Maki. Then, his eyes flick back to Kaede’s. “Can I get your number?”

Kaede flushes and smiles as she nods, and Rantaro pulls out his phone to input the digits as she says them. Kokichi rolls his eyes and exits the shop, not bothering with any goodbyes. He’s so over today. Everyone’s so boring and predictable and stupid and Rantaro is stupid for trying to get back at Kokichi for a dumb joke. Everyone got so worked up over jokes these days!

Rantaro catches up to Kokichi in the parking lot. “Someone’s in a hurry.” 

“No, you’re just too slow for me!” Kokichi shoots back. 

“Yeah, maybe,” Rantaro says thoughtfully, head tilted back as they walk to his car. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

“I hope so,” Kokichi says, getting in the passenger seat. 

Rantaro sighs as he slips into the drivers’ side and starts up his car. “I know you’re mad at me.”

“Nope! Bzzzt! Wrong! I’m not mad at my beloved Rantaro! He didn’t do anything wrong, did he? He just _reeeally_ wants to get into blondie’s pants back there, huh?”

Rantaro scowls, turning his attention back to what it should have already been on: driving Kokichi the fuck home. “You know I’m not like that.”

“Who cares?” Kokichi snaps. “Who cares about anything? Who cares about stupid weddings and ice cream and pianos and ugly emo boys who can’t take jokes-” and Kokichi remembers he still has a text from Shuichi sitting unopened on his phone, so he swipes it open as quickly as possible. 

_’Kaede said she talked to you this morning,’_

“So this _is_ about Shuichi,” Rantaro says, and Kokichi can fucking _hear_ the smirk in his voice. 

_’Wow! She’s an even bigger liar than me!’_ he types back. Shuichi’s reply is instantaneous, like he’s sitting in his dumb detective office waiting for Kokichi to text him back.

_’Kokichi,’_

“Kokichi, it’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes, you know?” Rantaro says, and that makes Kokichi’s back stiffen. 

“Ha, what, you think I’m upset or something? Only I get to decide how I feel, alright?” Kokichi says, smile on his face as he locks his phone and shoves it back into his pocket, throwing his hands behind his head. 

Rantaro nods, not taking his eyes off the road. “And how do you feel?”

Kokichi clenches his teeth and grins. “Never better!”


End file.
